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Cult television, like cult figures, cult film and cult radio, attracts a band of aficionados or appreciators, known as a cult following, devoted to a specific television series or fictional universe.

Although the most obvious cult-TV programs are science fiction shows such as Star Trek and Doctor Who, many pilots or short-lived shows such as Lookwell and TV Funhouse have also developed strong followings.

What exactly makes something a "cult" is widely debated. Some popular and strongly interconnected definitions are:

1. A genre, covering all series that play with widely held beliefs and perceptions. This covers most shows in genres like science fiction, fantasy fiction, horror fiction and some forms of sitcom (especially most forms of British comedy). Most adult animation series (like much anime) are included.
2. Any series that has a strong loyal audience that thinks a lot about the show, especially the world in which it is set. Such shows generally have a much higher than average level of intensity. Most such programmes are of the "cult" genre. This interest and support by fans is seen by some as being similar to religions and cults, hence the term.
3. Any series made for television that encourages its viewers to do more than just sit and watch it. This can be in the form of interacting, debating and partying with other fans, either via Conventions or Online Communities, or through activities such as writing series-related fiction, costume creation, replica prop and model building, or creating their own audio or video productions based around the formats and characters. This is the definition of choice of Cult TV [1], a group of appreciators who are also the owners of the Registered Trademark "Cult TV" in the UK.
4. Any series that has achieved a moderate level of popularity, but not a large one. This is what is usually meant when a series is said to have "achieved cult status". Even if a group of people agree on this definition of "cult status", arguments on a show's status within this type are common as the "moderate" band has two highly subjective borders.
5. Any unpopular or obscure series. This definition encompasses the fourth one, but also includes shows with only a small level of popularity. This definition is also used by those conferring "cult status". It is easier to reach consensus on this definition than the other because only one subjective boundary is involved.

Obscurity often makes shows more popular with intense fans. Many series that some people found strongly compelling were not hits in their original runs, and quite a few well-loved shows had only a season (or less) worth of material.

Since the late 1990s, cult shows have increasingly been available on DVD, leading to many formerly niche series (such as Futurama, Family Guy and Freaks and Geeks) becoming popular as new people discover them. Cartoon Network's adult oriented "Adult Swim" programming block in the USA shows cult television quite often. Before the DVD and internet file sharing, cult shows were often much harder to obtain and spread. Success in syndication and DVD sales even influenced Fox to bring back Family Guy, and then later Futurama, a rare phenomenon in television.

The internet has also been instrumental in growing TV series cults through inter-fan communication. Previously, a cult required enough people to support local clubs, conventions and book publishing to raise fan communications beyond the monthly newsletter level. Now many fans communicate daily with others about the series they are fans of. They can access vast stores of information on websites, even if there are only a few dozen people worldwide interested in a show.

The internet is also increasingly a platform for publishing cult shows. Programs like Happy Tree Friends and Queer Duck both went from online hobbies to broadcast cult TV. Others like Homestar Runner are immensely popular without any traditional TV presence.

As it has become easier to make, distribute and promote TV shows, there has been a correlated increase in material of very modest support. This correlation is partially explained by the Long Tail theory. According to the theory, if these shows become yet easier to create and access, we will see yet more niche programming produced, and mainstream material will eventually make up a substantially lower proportion of all viewership.

This list may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please help improve this list. It may be poorly defined, unverified or indiscriminate. (talk, help, how to edit) This article has been tagged since December 2006.

A list of series that achieved cult television status (in various countries) might include:

• Cult TV Festival and Magazine website
• IMDb :: Boards :: Cult TV
• Cult TV Forums
• Inventory: 15 Lamentably Lost One-Season TV Wonder